Amidst a controversy over the removal of an image of a Native American figure representing the Wilmington Warriors from the floor of the Wilmington High School gymnasium, Wilmington and Whitingham school board members voted unanimously to remove Wilmington’s Warrior mascot and Whitingham’s Trojan mascot from consideration as mascots for the new joint school district. At the time, Twin Valley hadn’t yet been selected as the name of the new school district, and the Twin Valley Wildcats didn’t exist. Some of the suggestions that had been submitted for consideration included the Coolsville Hounds, the W and W High School Blizzards, and the Whitingham Middle School Chimps. Several animal kingdom oddities were suggested as mascots, including armadillos, badgers, wombats, and walruses.

Whitingham resident Bob Coombs opened his huge collection of antique sugaring equipment and memorabilia to the public for Whitingham’s sixth annual maple sugar festival. Coombs had hundreds of different styles of spouts, buckets, sap lines, tins, pamphlets, and other paraphernalia. Some of his oldest treasures included handmade wooden sap spouts and a 250-year-old sap trough.

15 years ago:

Whitingham was considering establishing its own police force after Town Meeting voters approved a change in the town constable’s position from an elected office to an appointed one. Before the Town Meeting vote, the constable was elected, and served as the town’s primary law enforcement officer.

The town’s previous elected constable, Dick Williams, supported the establishment of a Whitingham Police Department.

A handful of local residents took a crash course in lobbying from Rep. Bob Rusten and former Rep. David Larsen. The goal was to send locals to the Statehouse to tell legislators about the burden that Act 60, its “shark” pool, and statewide education tax has created for local schools, students, and taxpayers. Rusten said he hoped the personal contact with legislators would swing deciding votes on amendments designed to reduce the impact of Act 60.

20 years ago:

Wardsboro resident Bob Moulton announced his plan to offer sailing tours of the New England coast. Based out of Rockland, ME, Moulton planned to take vacationers on weeklong cruises around the Maine coast on his 30-foot sailboat. Up to four people would be able to go on each cruise, and Moulton would customize the itinerary, and the galley cuisine, to passengers’ specifications.

Ski LTD’s purchase of Haystack Ski Area from bankrupt Haystack Associates was moving forward. Ski LTD, which also owned Killington and Mount Snow, would also acquire all of the valid permits held by Haystack Ski Area, allowing operations at the resort to continue under the management of Mount Snow.

The US Secretary of Education appointed Wilmington resident Leo Kornfeld as deputy assistant secretary in charge of $10.3 billion in federal student grant and loan programs.

25 years ago:

Wilmington Selectboard member Ann Manwaring was declared a local hero when her words decrying the effect of new solid waste disposal legislation on local towns became a call to arms for opponents of the new regulations. Manwaring’s demand that the Legislature “stand up and recognize the conundrum they have created” was adopted as a resolution by 73 of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns member municipalities, with three voting against it.

30 years ago:

An ad in The Deerfield Valley News asked “Where’s the beef?” referring to a national advertising campaign by Wendy’s fast food restaurant. In the Deerfield Valley, the beef was at Poncho’s Wreck, where early bird diners could order the New York sirloin for $7.95.

State Democratic Party Chair Pamela Harriman opined that incumbent President Ronald Reagan was not necessarily a shoo-in for a second term. In key polls, Harriman said, Reagan’s lead was historically insufficient for a successful incumbent. Several months later, Reagan was reelected in a landslide, with 58% of the popular vote to Democratic challenger Walter Mondale’s 40%.

40 years ago:

Chet Page announced the closing of Burrington Hill ski area, after he entered into an agreement with Edward Tanny, of Avon, CT, to sell several of the area’s buildings and about 30 acres. Tanny said he did not plan to open the ski area to the public.

In the column Pickles Peeples it was noted that the “streaking” fad had hit the valley. However, it was observed “those that should, don’t, and those who do aren’t worth watching.”

45 years ago:

Two Mount Snow Ski Patrol members, Kent Webster and Bob Gerhard, were preparing to climb a 100-foot tower of ice jutting up from Fountain Mountain. Preparations included cutting handholds and setting ice screws for an ascent later in the week. Gerhard said the tower was the closest thing to true glacier climbing in the Northeast.

Ed Pickett was named marketing director at Mount Snow. Pickett was a former reporter with the Baltimore Sun, and a newsman and announcer at KBAL radio in Baltimore.

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